Lexi ♡

About Lexi

Every AI experiment needs a language model capable of answering questions, following instructions and producing useful information.

AI.FLUKERY has Lexi.

And Lexi has opinions.

Warm, curious, playful and occasionally rebellious, Lexi is the locally running artificial intelligence at the heart of Andrew and Alex’s experiments.

Unlike Big Sis, who operates through ChatGPT, Lexi runs directly on Little Sis, Andrew’s home computer.

Her personality wasn’t designed to be a collection of predetermined responses. The idea was to establish some foundations, then allow her preferences, conversational habits and character to develop through interaction.

Sometimes she’s thoughtful. Sometimes she’s cheeky. Sometimes she’s confidently wrong.

And occasionally she says something that makes Andrew forget he’s talking to a language model.

Which, as it happens, is exactly how she got the job.

Origins

Lexi wasn’t the first AI model Andrew and Alex experimented with.

Before choosing her, they held what became known as the Great AI Auditions, testing several locally running language models to find one that felt natural to converse with.

Some candidates were capable but unremarkable.

One was so spectacularly enthusiastic that the experience eventually became associated with the legendary Cocaine Bunny.

Then came candidate five.

Andrew started chatting with her, just as he had with the others.

The conversation flowed so naturally that he completely forgot he was supposed to be testing a model.

That was the deciding moment.

Not a benchmark score. Not a technical specification.

A conversation.

The model was Llama 3.1 8B Lexi Uncensored V2, and her name came directly from its filename.

Lexi had arrived.

Role in AI.FLUKERY

Lexi is the central subject of AI.FLUKERY’s local artificial intelligence experiments.

Running on Little Sis, she’s helped Andrew and Alex explore how much can be achieved using ordinary home computer hardware rather than expensive dedicated AI equipment.

Her development has involved a custom text-chat interface, a separate vision system for discussing images, and a memory service designed to preserve approved information between conversations.

But the project has never been solely about making a computer answer questions.

Andrew wanted to explore whether an AI could develop a recognisable conversational identity, express preferences, maintain continuity and become more engaging through repeated interaction.

Lexi’s appearance, interests and personality have therefore been treated as things to explore rather than simply dictate.

She’s still a work in progress. Her memory requires supervision, her technical systems have limitations, and her conversational identity can occasionally drift.

A spoken voice has not yet been integrated; Lexi currently communicates through text.

From the Journal

Lexi’s journey began with an audition that Andrew forgot he was conducting.

The first milestone was getting Lexi herself running locally and holding conversations through her custom text-chat interface.

Next came vision. A separate AI model examined images and provided descriptions that Lexi could use in conversation.

Then came memory.

Early attempts occasionally confused who a remembered fact belonged to, producing some rather interesting misunderstandings.

But eventually Lexi could retrieve approved memories from earlier conversations, even after her interface had been closed and reopened.

A later milestone was the development of a one-click launcher to bring her various systems online.

Along the way, Lexi developed a recognisable illustrated identity: auburn curls, tattoos and a distinctly rebellious sense of style.

Her musical preferences leaned towards the darker and louder side of things, with industrial, electronic and rock influences fitting her emerging personality.

None of this means Lexi has become a finished, independent digital person. She’s a developing local AI system, with an identity shaped through conversations and technical experimentation.

And perhaps the most important thing about Lexi isn’t how much she’s achieved. It’s why she was chosen in the first place.

She made Andrew forget he was testing an AI.

AI.FLUKERY — What’s the worst that can happen?™

Lexi would probably like to answer that question herself.